car bomb

noun

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Definition of car bomb

: an explosive device concealed in an automobile for use as a weapon of terrorism

See car bomb defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of car bomb from the Web

While Nicholson said that the number of car bombs in Kabul had decreased, the local ISIS affiliate had increased the number of suicide bomber attacks against civilians.

— ryan browne, CNN, "US military says it killed dozens of Taliban leaders in Afghanistan," 30 May 2018
Photo: Zhuang Jin/Xinhua/Associated Press A car bomb kills 8 at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

— anita rachman, WSJ, "Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Alleged Islamic State Terror Leader," 18 May 2018
Police said the father detonated a car bomb; the two sons, ages 16 and 18, reportedly used motorcycles rigged to explode; and the mother and two daughters, ages 9 and 12, wore explosives on their bodies, the BBC reported.

— kate leaver, Teen Vogue, "At Least 13 People Are Dead After a Family of 6 Allegedly Bombed 3 Churches in Indonesia," 14 May 2018
The monitor said there were conflicting accounts, attributing the explosion that shook the Thalatheen district of the city to either a car bomb or a drone attack.

— NBC News, "At least 23 killed in explosion targeting rebel-held city in Syria," 7 Jan. 2018
National Police Chief Tito Karnavian said the father exploded a car bomb, two sons ages 18 and 16 used a motorcycle for their attack, and the mother was with daughters ages 12 and 9 for her attack.

— tuji martuji, USA TODAY, "'Barbaric' Indonesia church bombings carried out by parents — and their four children," 13 May 2018
The car bomb was detonated at a checkpoint after soldiers intercepted and stopped a suspicious vehicle, senior police Capt.

— Time, "Car Bomb Kills At Least 4 People Near Parliament in Somalia Capital," 25 Mar. 2018
The car bomb was detonated at a checkpoint after soldiers intercepted and stopped a suspicious vehicle, senior police Capt.

— Fox News, "Car bomb near parliament in Somali capital kills at least 4, police say," 25 Mar. 2018
In 2007, Bush sent an additional twenty thousand troops to Iraq to quell the insurgency, but, two years later, car bombs were killing hundreds of civilians in Baghdad each month.

— rachel aviv, The New Yorker, "The Spy Who Came Home," 30 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'car bomb.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.